The elephant on the high street

What can we do about the buildings left to fall into disrepair?

Everyone can relate to the frustration of passing, day after day, a rundown, disused building in their local area. Why is it allowed to become an eyesore? Why can’t anyone take it over?

It could be an abandoned town hall, an office or a pub. As we think about the needs and hopes of our communities, the sense of missed opportunity is palpable. These buildings are a powerful symbol of what needs to change if we want to renew our high streets, transfer power to communities and restore local pride.

This situation has a name: delinquent ownership. It’s what happens when the responsibilities of ownership aren’t upheld and the local community suffers as a result. Some owners neglect buildings in the interests of profit. Others find themselves stuck because of difficult personal, legal or financial circumstances.

Whatever the reason, communities need the means to regenerate their own areas. Places such as Hastings and Dumfries have shown what is possible, bringing local landmarks back into community use despite the barriers.

But it shouldn’t be so difficult.

Try to find out who owns a neglected building and you can quickly run into fragmented records and complicated ownership structures. Try to intervene and you may find that councils struggle to use the powers available to them. Find a route forward and the challenge becomes paying for acquisition, repairs and a sustainable future.

Clear ownership information, usable powers and accessible finance could help more communities act before neglect becomes irreversible. So could sharing the experience of people who have already found a way through.

Communities Against Delinquent Ownership (CADO) exists to help local success stories become a story of national community-led change. We’re bringing together knowledge about neglected buildings, connecting campaigns and working to remove the barriers they face.

Our national crowdsourcing map is coming soon, and we’ll need your local knowledge.

That rundown building is an eyesore and a missed opportunity. It’s also a place that could have a future.

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